South Park: The Stick of Truth was one of my favorite games of 2014, an unapologetically profane and hilarious send-up of typical RPG conventions that served as a nice companion piece to a Game of Thrones-inspired arc from the show’s 17th season. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were involved with the project throughout the development process, and the result was easily the best South Park videogame of all time. So the question is, where do we go from here?

Revealed during Ubisoft’s annual E3 press conference yesterday, South Park: The Fractured But Whole picks up one day after the events of the previous game. Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny have abandoned their fantasy role-playing adventures to dress up as superheroes with one goal in mind: creating a billion-dollar film franchise. Check out the first official trailer for South Park: The Fractured But Whole below.

Much like the first game skewered its subject matter, South Park: The Fractured But Whole is pulling no punches here. The trailer takes repeated shot at the state of modern cinema, where studios carefully plot their shared universes in hopes of maximizing box office revenue. The animated series has always managed to remain incredibly topical – thanks in no small part to the relatively short production time required to produce an episode – but with the longer development cycle necessary for a videogame, it’s impressive that everything here feels incredibly relevant.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole also promises a more expansive gameplay experience, with new grid-based combat options that allow you to take up strategic positions on the battlefield, and a host of new abilities and costumes to outfit your character. You can check out some of these new features in the video below, but beware of mild spoilers for the early parts of the game.

The trailer itself was more than enough reason for me to be excited about this game, but Ubisoft also dropped a huge incentive: fans that pre-purchase South Park: The Fractured But Whole on PS4, Xbox One or Steam will receive a free digital copy of South Park: The Stick of Truth. If you missed out on the first game, or you just want to experience it one more time before the sequel, this is a pretty stellar offer.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole will hit store shelves on December 6.

Brent Hankins

Brent Hankins is a member of the Phoenix Critics Circle and co-host of the Drinks and Discourse podcast. He's also the proud owner of an Italian Greyhound named Sullivan. He's adorable (the dog, not the author).